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Quick Start Guide

Get started with TrueLedger in 5 minutes!

First Launch

When you first launch TrueLedger, you'll see the Intro Screen with a brief overview of the app's features.

  1. Tap GET STARTED or SKIP to go directly to the dashboard.
  2. Grant notification permissions (optional) to receive reminders for bills and budgets

🧪 Demo Data / Seeding

To easily experience TrueLedger with a rich set of populated data, you can instantly inject demo entries (transactions, budgets, loans, investments, and more):

  1. Navigate to Settings.
  2. Tap on Seed Data to automatically populate your dashboard. You can clear this anytime by tapping Clear All Data.

Dashboard Overview

The Dashboard is your financial command center:

┌─────────────────────────────────────┐
│  💰 Monthly Summary                 │
│  Income: $5,000 | Expenses: $3,200  │
│  Savings: $1,800                    │
└─────────────────────────────────────┘
┌─────────────────────────────────────┐
│  📊 Smart Insights (AI)             │
│  "Great job! You're saving 36%..."  │
└─────────────────────────────────────┘
┌─────────────────────────────────────┐
│  🎯 Budgets & Goals                 │
│  Groceries: $450 / $500             │
│  Vacation Fund: $2,000 / $5,000     │
└─────────────────────────────────────┘

Adding Your First Transaction

Income

  1. Tap "Add Income" on the dashboard
  2. Enter:
  3. Source: e.g., "Salary"
  4. Amount: e.g., 5000
  5. Date: Select the date
  6. Tap Save

Expense

  1. Tap "Add Expense" on the dashboard
  2. Enter:
  3. Category: e.g., "Groceries"
  4. Amount: e.g., 150
  5. Date: Select the date
  6. Note (optional): e.g., "Weekly shopping"
  7. Tags (optional): e.g., "food, essentials"
  8. Tap Save

Setting Up a Budget

  1. Navigate to Settings → Budgets
  2. Tap "Add Budget"
  3. Enter:
  4. Category: e.g., "Dining Out"
  5. Monthly Limit: e.g., 300
  6. Tap Save

The dashboard will now show your budget progress!

Creating a Saving Goal

  1. Navigate to Settings → Saving Goals
  2. Tap "Add Goal"
  3. Enter:
  4. Name: e.g., "Emergency Fund"
  5. Target Amount: e.g., 10000
  6. Current Amount: e.g., 2000
  7. Tap Save

Track your progress on the dashboard!

Viewing Analytics

Tap the Analysis tab to see:

  • Spending Trends: Monthly spending over time
  • Category Breakdown: Where your money goes
  • Income vs Expenses: Compare earnings and spending
  • Budget Performance: How well you're sticking to budgets

AI-Powered Insights

The dashboard displays Smart Insights powered by AI:

  • 📈 Wealth Projections: Predicts net worth growth based on current savings velocity.
  • 💡 True Cost Analysis: Translates heavy spending categories into "hours of life worked" based on your effective hourly wage.
  • ⚠️ Overspending & Burn Rate: Detects abnormal spending surges and calculates how many days your liquid assets will last if income stops.
  • 🧟 Subscription Leakage: Identifies zombie subscriptions consuming disproportionate amounts of income.

Customization

Change Theme

  1. Go to Settings
  2. Tap Theme
  3. Choose:
  4. System Default
  5. Light Mode
  6. Dark Mode

Change Currency

  1. Go to Settings
  2. Tap Currency
  3. Select your preferred currency symbol

Set Up PIN Lock

  1. Go to Settings
  2. Tap Security
  3. Enable PIN Lock
  4. Set your 4-digit PIN

Backup & Restore

Export Data

  1. Go to Settings → Data Management
  2. Tap Export Data
  3. Choose a location to save the JSON file

Import Data

  1. Go to Settings → Data Management
  2. Tap Import Data
  3. Select your backup JSON file

Important

Importing data will replace all existing data. Make sure to export first!

Tips for Success

  1. Track Daily: Add expenses as they happen for accurate insights
  2. Review Weekly: Check your analytics every week
  3. Set Realistic Budgets: Start with achievable limits
  4. Use Tags: Organize expenses with tags for better analysis
  5. Check AI Insights: Review recommendations regularly

Next Steps

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